GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

[mexicotait]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

That second picture is just so

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Somerset Seeker Targa - Sat 13th April 2019

With the Somerset Stages not running this year due to various reasons, Nigel Winkworth decided to use Burnham on Sea MC forest allocation for a Targa Rally instead.

Nigel has been part of the organising team for the Exmoor Targa for the last 5 years, and also helped Martin and George with the Exmoor Endurance for many years before that, so it was very good to see him take the main role in organising this new event.
Based in Minehead there were 45 cars entered and 45 miles of good quality forest tracks split into 12 tests.

George and I were car 1 (as we probably know the forests better than most), followed by Jason & Dan Stone at 2, and Brendan Wellman & Gavin Bull at 3.

We started with Knowle forest, before heading to Whits Wood and a long 8 mile Croydon Test. Knowle was run in the reverse direction to the Exmoor, but worked well with us slightly catching Car 4, Paul Freeth & Lizzie Pope, on our second lap.
We set the fastest time despite 20s penalties for nudging a couple of cones.

Whits Wood was being run and marshalled by Tavern, and was very slippery but we were just quickest again.
Then to the long Croydon test, an interesting route devised by Nigel using some sections we haven’t used for a few years. It went very well and we were fastest by over a minute despite a slight overshoot of one codeboard.





A short test around Kennisham was followed by 2 identical tests in Chargot, a forest we are not able to use in October. These were great fun but there were not enough manoeuvres to slow everyone down so half the crews beat the bogey time.

At the lunch halt we were leading by just under 2 minutes, helped by cars 2 and 3 having retired.

The afternoon tests were similar to the morning ones, Knowle and Whits we were quickest, then the Croydon test had the middle loop in the opposite direction. Unfortunately this meant the faster sections were used twice and we beat the bogey time along with another 6 cars.
Kennisham ran twice in the opposite direction, and Chargot once. We backed off slightly on these tests, but still came 1st Overall by over 3 minutes from Paul & Jamie Watts (MG ZR).

A very enjoyable event and I hope it will run again next year if the Somerset Stages is not able to run.

Many thanks to the organisers and marshals, and George for a great job navigating.

[dodgydoughnut]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Fantastic write up gavin. Didn't realise this was you. We have just got into the road rally targa scene. Me an my son have seen you out in fly. I drive the silver bmw e30. Look forward to seeing you out in the future.

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Hi Chris,

Didn't realise you were on here either!

You've been going very well in your BMW
I look forward to seeing you out on the Exmoor

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

I thought it was about time I brought this thread up to date!

After the Somerset Seeker, my next event in Fly was Bath Motor Clubs Targa at Kemble Airfield near Cirencester
Carrie was navigating and we had a good day out, finishing 2nd Overall behind Ben Griffin in his 106 Rallye

In June, I organised the Washingpool Farm Targa for the 5th year and did Course Car in Fly with Carrie and Wilma helping

A bit of a break over the summer was followed by more organisational duties on the Exmoor in October, running Course Car again
Despite heavy rain the week before and strong winds on the Friday, the event went ahead and the only problem was a bit of flooding on a road section which we had to reroute
It did make for tricky conditions in the forests though!



In November there was a single venue Targa run by North Devon MC at RMB Chivenor - a large airfield just outside Barnstaple
Neither George nor Carrie were available, so my navigator was Nathan Perks. He was also driving his Dad's Micra with his Dad navigating, and I was navigating for his Dad (Tony) in the Micra too
So a very busy day, especially with a small entry of 30 cars
There were 6 long Tests with a total of 25 miles, all on very good tarmac except for 1/2 mile of rough track
It was a nice day but had rained all the previous week and the organisers warned us about a large puddle on one section

After the first round of tests everyone was commenting on the best way through the large puddle
My answer was simple - flat in 3rd



I wasn't quickest on the first test as Nathan and I were getting used to each other and the organisers diagrams which were slightly different to ones we'd used before, but we were quickest on the next 3 to give us a lead of over a minute at mid-afternoon
But on Test 4 the brakes had gone spongy which gave me a bit of concern - the fluid level in the front system was down, but no obvious signs of a leak, so carry on regardless!
We lost a small bit of time on the last 2 longer Tests, but still came 1st Overall by 53s

Investigating the brakes later I found one of the unions in the front caliper had been bent on contact with the compression strut and leaked when pressure was applied
So an easy fix, but I also twisted the compression strut slightly to provide a small amount of clearance when the suspension is on full droop


Later in November it was the Bustard Targa, this time running as a single venue based at Worthy Farm, but still boasting 35 miles of tests
I entered with George and we were seeded Car 1 (out of 55) having won the event the previous summer
But Worthy Farm in November is very different to Worthy Farm in the summer...

At the drivers briefing the organisers told us to keep away from the edges of the tracks, especially the fields as we would get stuck!
Test 1 I managed to keep off the fields, but slid into a fence on a narrow section through some trees (by the Wicker Snake for those of you who have been to Glastonbury Festival !)
By the time I had got Fly out of the fence, car 2 had nearly caught us, so I let them past and carried on a bit more sensibly
Luckily there was not much damage, but I checked the tracking back in the paddock a bit later (it was fine)

So 14th after Test 1 left us a lot of work to do! By lunch we were up to 7th and I thought 6th or even 5th might be possible, but we had a disastrous last loop
Sometimes running Car 1 is fine, sometimes it's a nightmare and this was one of those days when it was a nightmare!

On the penultimate Test we came into a PC only to find the marshal was still sat in his car - 10s lost by the time he got to us and signed the card, then the last Test we got confused on a tricky section and lost more time, which left us 8th overall






The final event of 2019 was the Stanta Targa Rally held at the Stanta Training Ground in Norfolk which covers an area of 30,000 acres or 45 square miles and has over 100 miles of roads contained within it's boundaries
The organisers had identified a few roads, gravel and mud tracks and even fields which were going to be used

Carrie and I were both that side of the country for Christmas so it seemed a good way to end the year and we met up in Norfolk on a very cold and dry morning

The first test went well despite a few delays but there was a longer delay after Test 3 and we found out that one crew had been caught out by the slippery conditions and hit a tree.
The car (Peugeot 106) was a write off and both crew members went to hospital for checks (nothing serious).

Following this, the organisers had a rethink and decided parts of their route and all of Test 4 was too dangerous to compete on, so we continued with a shortened route.
Nothing else went wrong and we were pelased to be 3rd at the end
It is a great area to have a rally, but the organisers need to be a bit more sensible at choosing route and where they need to slow the cars down!

[Graham]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Great write up as always, well done.

seems like years since i read about any motor sport!

[Sidways93]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Nice write up I was the guy who lent you the box oil at Kemble. Bustard sounds like a good event to do.

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Nice write up I was the guy who lent you the box oil at Kemble. Bustard sounds like a good event to do.

Thanks
Bustard is a great event and hopefully it will be business as usual by November, and also for my Exmoor Targa in October

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

As we all know, not much else happened in 2020, but I did get out on the Hatsford Targa in September. This is held on 25 acres of grass fields which doesn't really suit Fly and we finished 11th.

Next was the Ilfracombe Targa at Chivenor Airfield in North Devon in October. The airfield is next to the coast and there was a severe storm all day with a lot of the airfield under water - even the portaloo had to be strapped to a fence to stop it blowing over!
There were supposed to be online results but this didn't happen due to the conditions and it wasn't the sort of day to be checking times with other people. There were a lot of delays and the water was getting deeper, up to a foot deep in places. Fly kept going well but we were getting colder and damper throughout the day and were ready to go home when the organisers called it a day - we had done 6 Tests which was around 30 miles so a decent amount of rallying.
Then the results took 3 weeks to be published! George and I finished 2nd behind top Welsh Road Rally Driver, John Davies, who had Nick Bloxham navigating in a 1700cc Puma

Over the winter Fly just needed some welding on the boot floor (again), a rack gaiter and a fresh starter motor
Onto 2021 and we actually managed to do a rally last weekend

Kemble Targa Rally - Sunday 9th May 2021

This event has been run for the last 3 years by Bath MC as a single venue Targa, but as their Festival event was cancelled in February, they extended the Kemble event to use 2 other venues, Charlton Park and South Cerney Airfield, giving 25 miles of Tests. There were 75 entries with the event filling up in 10 minutes (!).

George and I were seeded Car 5, behind previous winners Ben Griffin / Steve Conner (106 Rallye), Chris Ieuan Hand / Michael Jones (Mk2 Escort), Dai Roberts / Max Freeman (Mk2 Escort), John Davies / Nick Bloxham (Puma) and ahead of Guy Woodcock / Andy Pullan (Mk2 Escort) and Steve Retchless / Sasha Heriot (Mk2 Escort), and a lot of other quick crews on the list, so we knew it was going to be a difficult day to get a good result.

I had done Kemble before, as had George, but not in the same car and with 6 months since the last event we were sure how it would go.
We needn't have worried, with the first Test at Kemble going well with 5th fastest time.

Next was Charlton Park, a stately home just north of Malmesbury, and a venue which hadn't been used for a Targa before. The 3.35 mile Test was a good mixture of smooth gravel tracks, a tricky bit through some trees, a long smooth tarmac driveway, then back onto gravel around an old camp to the finish.
I was a bit too cautious and hesitated a couple of times as some of the cones were smaller than usual, but no mistakes and 8th quickest, although over 20s behind John Davies.

The final 2 Tests of the morning were at South Cerney Airfield which has a 1.5 mile perimeter track and just a couple of little loops off to the side, and it was very fast, more like doing a stage than a test. I was glad I was on 10 year old A021R's rather than forest tyres and they were still gripping well after 4 laps over the 2 Tests - all the corners were flat out, just having to stop for the marshals and the chicanes. Quickest time was set by a Clio 172 with us setting top 10 times, and we were lying 4th at lunch.

The afternoon Tests were identical plus a last slightly different one at Kemble to finish. We improved our times on all the Tests and had a very good run on the last one
When the results came out later, we were pleased to be 2nd Overall, just 16s behind John Davies / Nick Bloxham who had picked up some a 20s cone penalty in the afternoon

Well done to the organisers for an enjoyable event, thanks to the marshals and especially George who made sure we didn't pick up any penalties throughout the day

Pics from Andy Manston

Kemble is used as a plane graveyard and has been filling up during COVID


South Cerney


Charlton Park House in the background


Part of Charlton Park Estate


And final test back at Kemble

[Sidways93]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Good result Gavin, it was tricky in places, I was out in my 4 door Escort on turbospeeds because it’s all I had and the weather on Saturday suggested they would be ok but I absolutely ruined all 6! Do you think Extreme VR3s would of held up well?

Lewis

[JimKeogh]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Excellent result......well done!

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

It was definitely hotter than I expected too - Jason and Dan Stone were also on Turbospeeds and had nothing left by the end!
As for Extreme VR3's, I would think Mediums all round would have been ok

I was surprised the 21R's lasted the day but they did and will do some more mileage
It depends a lot on driving style too - I've normally been good with tyre wear as I'm quite neat and tidy

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Things have been very busy this month with the Ross MSC Hatsford Targa on 8th August and the Forresters CC Venta Silurum Targa on 22nd August
For both events, I had Tavern MC member Keith Emery sat in with me - I've known Keith for 10 years but we'd never done an event together

Hatsford is run at a Farm near Ledbury with the Tests laid out on 25 acres of fields. I didn't expect to do that well, especially as it had been wet the previous day. The first Test, it was just a question of trying to keep moving in the right direction, and the second one wasn't much better - some parts had dried slightly and other parts had got muddier.
We didn't have any more rain, so it got faster during the day, but we were caught out by a few cones which weren't quite where we expected them to be.
We finished 7th overall (in the Interclub event) and were the top RWD car, but well behind the leaders.





Venta Silurum is the Roman name for Caerwent, an Army Training ground in South Wales which has been used for Rallying for many years, but this was the first Targa Rally.
The organisers had laid out 3 Tests in a loop, with 2 loops in one direction in the morning, and 2 loops in the other direction after lunch. Each Test was 2.5-3.5 miles, making a total of 40 miles.

Caerwent is well known for having a maze of roads and buildings, and a lot of kerbs, so we just wanted to get round without any problems. The first loop didn't go well, getting used to the scale of the maps and how everything was laid out, but we had a clean run through the 3rd Test which gave us some confidence for the next loop. There were no changes to the Tests and we were 40-45s quicker on each one which moved us into the top 20.
The reverse direction after lunch worked well as there were enough tyre marks to follow. We were getting quicker and avoiding all the kerbs, setting times around the top ten. The last loop was similar along we lost a bit of time on the last Test as the axle had started rumbling and we didn't want to break anything!
We finished 12th overall but need to try a lot harder (and cut some corners) to be anywhere near the top crews. It was a great event though and I look forward to going back there next year.





Next event is the Three Shires Stages on 5th September - 65 miles of Closed Road Stages in Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, so I'm busy fitting the fire extinguishers, seats, harnesses, intercom, etc, from Dvy into Fly, and rebuilding the axle (the hub bearings had gone tight, so not too serious)

[Sidways93]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Good write up and result at Caerwent, I managed a decent result but I’ve been going there to marshal for a long time, still never seen it laid out like that and some of the roads used. Running a little further back probably helped on the first loop too.

I could do with Splits on my Escort to make the most of the engine but see it as a bit of risky move now with potential rule changes!

Cheers, Lewis car 31

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

I had a set of splits in 2000 and sold them in 2004 as I thought the rules were going to change. They never changed the rules but who knows what will happen in the future!

Anyway I'm ready for the Three Shires Stages on Sunday, fitted the moulded slicks as it looks like it will be a dry day